Hair drying apparatus



H. ORNER Nov. 22, 1949 HAIR DRYING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 29, 1947INVENTOR Fla-5.7

-' ED P 71 .T OFFIC I j z ii ssse V Y 3 Hemp arrive APPARATUS? fl n rronie ic i vsaiti ii'e'igiie, one Application January 29, 1947, SerialNo. 725,027

" ififsoia'iins (cig r-s i 1:, I H I V I. I n) H I Q I inventionrelatesto hair drying apparatus Other objects and advantages Of thisinventionand particularly to such hair drying apparatus will be apparent duringth course of the followusing dried-iairi I 1 r ing description.-

prying hair conventionallyconsists of raising In'the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part the ternperature of circulated air to heat the{i of-=this specification, and in which like numerals moisture inthehair-to-thereby increase the rate are employed to designate likeparts throughout or evaporation. However such rate of drying is thesame. 7 7 relative to the hygrometric state, a quantity which Fig; 1 isa longitudinal cross-sectional view of maybeexpressed as th'e ratio ofthe mass of a hair drying apparatus'embodying my invention water vapor,present per unit. volume of air, to shown somewhat diagrammaticallyinthe respect themassof-watenvaporwhich would be required that forclearness the parts are shown in their to saturate per unitvolume of airif the temperasimplest form. ture remains constant. I Raising of thetempera- Figs; 2 and 3am cross-sectional views taken on ture requiresmore water vapor to produce satuline-s 22 and 3-3, respectively, of Fig.1.

rati n. If th at s er isi e p t u- Fig. 4"is-across-sectional view takenon line larly on hot humid summer days, the g of 4-4: of Eig. 2,increased in size;

etm r e s e n means o getting y "Fig; 5 is-a cross sectional view takenon line evaporation, and .any increase v of heat is very 5 5 ofFi'gincreasedm Size uncomfortable. Furthermore the evaporation is a cross'sectional iew imilar to 5 rate is so slow as to take a relative longsitting 21; u iHu-stfa ting a modified fomn Perlod f fi f' 1 "Fig. is aview similar to Fig. 1, but in fragn F 5 n i n theprocess of mem mentaryto illustrate modified features of this relatively independent of thehygrometr c state invention of the atmosphere and doPjs not Potany relyon -B,eferring"'more particularly to the drawings, the evaporation ofthe moisture in the hair by- 25 therviappamtds-cbmprises a housing Lgenerally heat. Furthermore, in dressing hair, a solution cylindrical-m1shape having a closed end and an used-causmg the half where- It has-beenopen 'end? *A'mo't'or z is mounted axially within n that this solutiqnWm dry on the 'l r the housing" I and a blower 3 rotatably mounted heiPreventive the miculatedfiir reachmg the on the 'rnotor shaft facing theopen end of the lindeflying ham In thls inYentlon I further housingMounted approxin iately on the same i a. means overcome thls to t theaxis of the'motor "shaft is a rotary drum 4 in -iifi*ii?;y8b?;iiiiitiifiiitioitto pmeer e 'iw Also minted in the same videa hairdryingapparatus to efficiently dry s s 22 5 im 2 hair, but whichobviates all of the aforesaid difli -g e i a @35 g culties and"disadvantages. v

More specifically itisan object of this inveh- 2 5m m .7 recelYe Persmsd tion' to provide a hair drying apparatus to dry -g g g endrof the uhair with the lea-st discomfort to the person. W gen 3 wie r fl y a theblower ,Another'objectof this invention is to increase 40 1S P e 8 wingerem number of the rate of drying ham I (I V p electric heating coils 9.Beyond the rotary drum ,Another. object of this invention is to prevent:.-h slde passage 8 coherence of the hairtopermit drying belowthe ii eiia sa .1 l d t f housmg I m surface hair. ef tmos he ee Anotherobject ofthis invention is to dry hair -'Iherp ru fi. s qf an puter cylinwiththe, maximum independence to the hygro- 119 31 rme La -m r y ring 2, ce

metric state of. the atmosphere. rally spa ed by. al m s 3 the -Anotherobject ofthis invention is to provide, p ri l space between rings II andI2 into a fully automatic drying system using an adsorbc on W i sfi l Wh a dehydrating agent ing mechanism to dry air for drying,,and to re.-'4- he-pr e r d y ting agent being what activate theadsorbing..mechanismat the same, iscommercially referred to as silicagel. I The. time. H I v open ends ,oi the sections are covered byscreens Another object of this invention is, to dry. hair IFi retaining-the. silica gel I 4 in. place and perwith the least amount. of. heatdirected on the n itting circulation ;of air therethroughi The ro-Q ha-e.

sleeve I6 supported by a journaled bracket I1 fixed in housing I.

The sleeve I6 (see Fig. 4) having a head portion IB shouldering againstthe journaled portion of the bracket I'I, two washers I9 on either sideof a hub 20 of the rotary drum 4, and a nut 2I threaded on the oppositeend of the sleeve I6 against a shoulder 22 to permit the hub 20 torotate on the sleeve I6. The rotary drum 4 has spoke members 23 fastenedto ring I2 supporting the hub 20' in axial relation to the ring I2. Themembers 23 have openings 24 to permit circula tion of air therethrough.Th outer ring II extends axially forming an annular flange 25, so-

provided for a wheel 26 to ride. on the inside surface.

The wheel 26 is fixed to "a counter'shaft '21" and supported in ajournaled sleeve 28. Sleeve 28 is fixed on an arm 2.9 pivoted on a pin30' to a stationary support in the housing I. A spring 3I i1rges thearm-29 in a. direction "to cause the wheel 26 to frictionally engage thefiange 25 to drive it and thereby rotate the rotary drum 4.

On -theopposite end of the counter shaft #21 is fixed a pulley 32 drivenby the motor '2 by the connecting belt 33 and a pulley '34 rotatablyfixed on the motor shaft.

A shaft 35 (see-Fig.4) journaled in the sleeve I6 has atone end a-pulley36 fixed thereon, and driven by a 'belt 3'I which receives its rotarypower from a pulley'portion 38 of the wheel-26. On the other end of theshaft 35 is fixedrotary vanes 5,"-includin'g outer extending arms 39 19wing at its extreme ends vane members 40 ex tending to the cylindricalwalls of housing I.

Along the inner cylindrical walls of the housing- I are fixed stationaryguides M for directing the circulated air. Guides 4I"are sloped inward-'ly towardthe bulge of the structure of the passage II] to guidethe-circulated air under it, to compensatefor its obstruction,- to moreevenly distribute vthe airalong the circumference of housing I.

A support 42 is provided for the housing I ineluding-a stand (notshown): of the type conventionally used with hair drying apparatus.-

In operation, air (indicated by arrows) is circulated alongthecylindrical wall of the housing I by the blower 3 into two generalpaths. One

path, airis conveyed through the passage 8 be-' tween the heatercoils9,"into the silica gel M of rotary drum 4, and out through the passage I0 into the atmosphere. The other path, air is circulated through thesilica gel I4 of rotary drum 4, passing vane members 40 into the drying.cham i ber I, back inward at the center of the drying chamber 1,through the openings24 of the rotary drum 4, back to the blower 3.Limited openings 43 may be provided-atthe closed end of the housing I tocool the motor 2.

The air circulated in the last mentioned path in passing through thesilica gel I4 has a. portion of its vapor removed and in so doing heatis liberated equivalent to the latent heat of evaporation of theadsorbed liquid resulting in the rise of'temperatureof'the dried air.This dried warmair'passes' into'the drying chamber I to dry the moistureon the hair.

The silica gel" being of an established mesh has a definite resistanceto air flow through 'a packed bed of granular'particles. The rate of theair velocity and pressure in the drying chamber I is a factor"of; theblowerpapacityfthe mesh size granular silica "gel; the area ofthe'surface' of the silica gel, and its'deptli in rotary drum 4.

4 These factors may be so established as to give the desired efliciencyof drying hair.

In a modified form, as indicated in Fig. 7, the silica gel may be packedinto the entire hollow volume of a smaller diameter rotary drum 4',dispensing with ring I2 and members 23, and extending the radial membersI3 to hub 20. Thus drying the returning air drawn into the blower 3-and-permitting a free passage between the outer diameter of the rotarydrum 4' and the cylindrical wall of the housing I.

In this continuous process, the silica gel must be activated for re-useand the rotary drum 4 (or 4') is rotated so the saturated portion of thesilica'gel comes into the air path of the first mentioned path, betweenthe passages 8 and ID. The "air passingover the coils 9 is heated to adesired temperature and passed through the silica gel to remove itsmoisture, and out into the atmosphere through passage I U.

The rotary drum' 4 (or 4') is rotated by'the wheel'26 as explained andis driven at a continuous rate to permit proper activating of the silicagel. The action of the silica gel is practically instantaneous underdynamic adsorption conditions and'the reactivating process is whatestablishes the rate of rotation of the rotary drum, and this is afactor of: the rate of air passed therethrough, and the amount of heatof the coils 9. However the drying process of hair does not require thecomplete reactivating of the silica gel to complete dryness,'but aportion of the moisture may be removed by the establishment of thesefactors to give an effective activation of the silica gel over a rangesatisfactory for the purpose of this invention. This would require arelative established rate of rotation of the rotary drum,'an establishedamount of heat from coils 9, and a definite rate of air circulated fromthe blower 3.

A more direct method of controlling the activation of the silica" gel isshown in Fig. 7. The outlet temperature'of the air in the passage I0,

tion of arm 29. The spring 3| being dispensed with.

To further facilitate drying of hair as earlier stated, the present useof hair dressing solution tends'to cause the hair to cohere forming abarrier to the circulationof air to the underlying hair. It may bedesirable to provide vane members 40 rotated at an established ratecutting the circulating air just prior to entering the drying chamber I.

The vane members 40 may take any desired cross sectional form which maybe suitable for the following action. In Fig. 5, it may take the simpleformofhaving two side walls at a slight angle to each other. Thecirculating air passingalong the side walls are reflected slightlyoutward (indicated by the arrows) causing a relative low pressure areaat L and a higher pressure area on either side; The hair under the. vanemember 40 will be caused to move upward slightly at the low pressurearea and forced down-' ward slightly at the high pressure area. Themovement of the hair need not be more than several times the diameter ofthe hair. The vanes 5 are rotated on shaft 35 so that the vane members40 cause varying pressure areas over the hair at such a rate as to causethe hair to vibrate, and so preventing setting of the hair dresssolution.

The vane member also may have a cross-section such as 40' in Fig. 6(indicated by the arrows), air is circulated between two walls a,-ainclined inward and at b-b inclined sharper, to force the air into ahigh pressure stream at H and low pressure just on either side. In anycase whatever the cross-section is provided it is desired to disturb theflow of circulating air over short radial areas moving over the entirecircumference at such rate as to continuously vibrate the hair toprevent it from cohering.

The silica gel l4 used as indicated in rotary drum 4 has thecharacteristic described by the manufacturer as:

Silica gel is a most inert, rugged material, its hardness being aboutNumber 5 in Mohs mineralogical scale, or slightly softer than ordinarywindow glass. Due to these characteristics it is an extremely durableproduct and neither erodes nor dusts while in service or while beingregenerated. The action of silica gel in adsorbing vapors is purelyphysical, and there is no change in the size or shape of the particlesas it becomes saturated. Likewise, no corrosive or injurious compoundsare given ofi as is usually the case when chemical absorption takesplace. Even when saturated, the particles of silica gel feel and appearperfectly dry.

However this invention is not limited to the use of silica gel sinceactivated alumina or similar adsorbing agents may be used with similarresults.

Thus there has been provided a hair drying apparatus circulating airwhich is continuously dried, and the hair is vibrated continuously toefilciently dry hair below the surface hair.

The apparatus is fully automatic in operation and requires no attention,adjustment or replacement of parts during the hair drying operation.

It is to be understood that the forms of my invention herein describedare to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that variouschanges may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of myinvention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a hair drying apparatus, a housing including a blower, said blowercirculating air in said housing, a drying chamber in said housing toreceive a persons head for the purpose of drying hair by saidcirculating air, an adsorbing mechanism in said housing to removemoisture from the circulating air, said adsorbing mechanism including arotary drum, an adsorbing agent in said drum, rotatable means for saiddrum to expose active portions of the adsorbing agent to the circulatingair to have the moisture thereof removed by the said adsorbing agent,and means to reactivate the said adsorbing agent in another portion ofsaid drum to remove the moisture thereof during the said operation ofremoving moisture from the circulating air.

2. In a hair drying apparatus, a housing including a blower, power meansfor driving said blower, said blower circulating air in said housing, adrying chamber in said housing to receive a persons head for the purposeof drying hair by said circulating air, an adsorbing mechanism in saidhousing to remove moisture from the circulating air, said adsorbingmechanism including a rotary drum, an adsorbing agent in said drum,rotatable power means for said drum to expose active portions of theadsorbing agent to the circulating air to have the moisture thereofremoved by the said adsorbing agent, and reactivating means including asection of the said rotary drum, said blower conveying air therethrough,heating elements for heating said conveyed air, and a continued passagethereby from said rotary drum terminating outside the said housing, saidrotatable power means for said drum to expose saturated portions of theadsorbing agent to the heated conveyed air to remove moisture from saidadsorbing agent, to continually reactivate the adsorbing agent.

3. In a hair drying apparatus, a blower conveying air, a housingincluding therein: an adsorbing mechanism to remove moisture from saidair, said adsorbing mechanism including a rotary drum, an adsorbent insaid drum, rotatable power means for said drum to expose active portionsof the adsorbent to the conveyed air, a drying chamber to receive apersons head for the purpose of drying hair, to use said moistureremoved air for drying hair, vibrating mechanism to vibrate the hair tofacilitate the drying operation by preventing cohering of the hair; adiverted air passage in said housing and a heater for said air therein,a portion of said adsorbing mechanism having a portion thereof adjacentone end of said passage, and a continuation of this passage to theatmosphere, to thereby reactivate the adsorbing mechanism by exposingthe saturated portion of the adsorbing mechae nism to said heated airand passing the saturated air into the atmosphere.

HARRY ORNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,570,045 Coune Jan. 19, 19261,793,313 Fuchs Feb. 17, 1931 1,814,028 Egli July 14, 1931 2,066,847McShea Jan. 5, 1937 2,115,226 Kopp Apr. 26, 1938 2,127,121 Kelly Aug.16, 1938 2,190,168 Armistead Feb. 13, 1940 2,278,854 Hunsicker Apr. 7,1942 2,293,161 Miller Aug. 18, 1942 2,367,601 Nicol Jan. 16, 19452,444,481 Watkins July 6, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date396,845 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1933

